No. 12

More photos here

Nicholas’ birthday no. 12 came and went. I’m still finding it hard to believe that we have a 12-year-old. He is a year closer to the teenage years and high school – never a dull moment. He is getting closer to reaching my height and is now 143cm (4ft 8in) – only half a foot shorter than me!

His interests have changed a bit over the past year. He is back into Lego, still into playing computer games (especially building/creating type games) and now into watching a bit of sci-fi like Dr. Who and the new Star Trek movies. We also just watched Ready Player One which he (and all of us) also enjoyed.

Birthday celebrations stretched over a week this year. His birthday fell on the Easter long weekend so we arranged a movie and sleepover party with his friends a week before. There were 5 other children at our place overnight which made a total of 7 – 5 boys and 2 girls (including Catherine and her friend). We took them all in after school on Friday. Had pizza for dinner and ice cream birthday cake before we loaded them up in 2 cars and took them to the cinema to watch Tomb Raider. A couple of parents joined us at the theatre. Kids enjoyed it but there was consensus among the grown-ups the original was better. We had an interesting mix of kids with some being not too sure about the movie (like Catherine) and others being way too excited. This continued through the night.

Back at home we set up the fire pit in the courtyard and roasted marshmallows. Then it was time for a run to the nearby park to play spotlight. I stayed with the girls and another boy stayed behind. Phil took the rest of them out in the dark. Even after a good while running around, they all still had energy when they returned. It was more hide and seek in the dark inside the house. Everyone was in bed close to 11pm but not fast asleep until midnight.

Next morning was an early start as a couple of boys were off to a scout camp for the rest of the weekend. We made waffles and the works for the hungry boys and girls. First pick-up was about 8am and the last was about 11am. It was good fun. Nicholas had been looking forward to a big sleepover for a while. He was not disappointed but he was totally exhausted later that day. He fell asleep on the couch that afternoon.

Nicholas’ actual birthday fell on a public holiday so we were all home and had a low-key day. We had more (Easter egg) waffles for breakfast after opening more presents. Nicholas helped me bake his requested chocolate cookie cake. He had one of his favourites for lunch – pizza sub from Subway. The afternoon was spent with cousins and the evening was with grandparents. Phil cooked another favourite for dinner, chili con carne, followed by the cookie birthday cake. He had a lovely day.